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Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts

Friday, November 6, 2015

30 days of lists


Weekend Dreaming

  1. wear hoodie
  2. go for a run
  3. drink coffee
  4. knit
  5. laugh with a friend
  6. take a nap
  7. read a book
  8. clean the kitchen
  9. change the linens
  10. make a meal
  11. draw or color
  12. watch a show or two
  13. take another nap
  14. eat popcorn
  15. sip tea
  16. bake something yummy (granola maybe...)

Friday, April 3, 2015

march goals (in review)

Somehow it's April and while I'm thrilled, I'm a bit surprised and uncertain about where March went! So let's see how I did on my goals...

Meal Plan - check (sort of)
This was hit and miss throughout the month. My husband got a cold and illness is always a game changer when it comes to eating. At the beginning of the month I stuck with my new cookbook and found great success. In the middle of the month it was a mixture of standby faves and comfort food for the weary. The last week of the month I decided to let the produce section inspire me. This was a really great choice! I chose a variety of veggies and picked up some chicken and salmon. When I got home I prepped the veggies for either sautéing or snacking. After packaging them into serving containers, I stored them in two bins in the fridge for easy access. I also chopped the chicken and cooked it all the same day using half for a curry dish and the other half for salads during the week. Lunches were mainly veggies, fruit and hummus, and dinners were chicken or salmon based with a side of more veggies. So easy and so fresh and delicious.

Finish Two Books - check!
I started to fiercely on this goal and then suddenly it was March 30 and I had 15 chapters left. With a little motivation from my third graders I powered through just before midnight. Phew! I finished Still Alice and Delancey, both of which I recommend. Delaney is a memoir that inspired you to pay attention to the ingredients you put into your cooking but also made me want to take on a new challenge and chase a passion or dream. I also want to go visit the restaurant now, even if I can't eat the pizza. During the month I also started two new books, however neither are quite inspiring so my spring break goal is to find a new book or two that I can dive into.





Sew Once a Week - check!
This did happen, I just forgot to blog about it! I made the bloomers and pieced the backing of my tree quilt. The next weekend I went on a quilt store tour with a friend and we picked out fabric for a baby quilt for her little boy and I got some warm tones to make a new quilt for the living room. Each week I made time to cut triangles or stitch a few together. It was slow going, however I'm looking forward to diving into the baby quilt over spring break. Nothing like a deadline and a few days off to motivate!



Blog Three Times a Week - umm...
Well... let's see the breakdown:

  • Week 1 - 3
  • Week 2 - 4
  • Week 3 - 2
  • Week 4 - 2

That almost averages to 3 times a week, and if we're focusing on the writing part, I did draft two more posts, just never got around to finishing/editing. March felt so fast and busy that I'm actually surprised I even blogged that many times! Of course "scripture sunday" helps a lot :)

I'm currently look at the calendar for April and working on some goals. This has been a fun way to push myself creatively, especially in the fiber and book arenas.


Saturday, March 21, 2015

lists


I love lists. I usually handwrite my lists with pretty pens and make them very large and colorful (code for hard to miss). Today I have a very structured to-do list so I can get things done! In fact, some are complete already!

1. laundry, laundry and more laundry
2. clean the kitchen (scrub, scrub, scrub)
3. complete lesson 1 of an online class
4. finish writing report card comments
5. go to the library
6. #coffeecoffeecoffee
7. make two meals that will have left overs
8. write 2 blog posts
9. work on the puzzle
10. read a book



What's on your to-do list? 

Saturday, March 7, 2015

meal planning

This week was a success! I used my new cookbook to make 5 recipes,
Here is what the week looked like:

Sunday evening I spent cooking for the week these three entrees: Pecan and Basil Crusted Chicken, Grilled Chicken Antipasto, and Thai Meatballs. The last step of the Thai Meatballs is to slow cook them in a sauce. Instead, we browned them, then placed them in the freezer until Thursday. Here is how it all worked out.

Sunday
Breakfast - Lemon Scones (I had everything on hand!)

Monday
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Antipasto
Dinner - Pecan Crusted Chicken

Tuesday
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Antipasto
Dinner - Breakfast for dinner (We always have omelet fix-in's)

Wednesday
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Antipasto for the hubby and Pecan Crusted Chicken for me
Dinner - we'd planned the meatballs for this night but had a surprise evening free and went out

Thursday
Lunch - Soup Group at school
Dinner - Thai Meatballs

Friday
Lunch - Pecan Crusted Chicken
Dinner - Thai Meatballs

Saturday
Breakfast - Chocolate Pancakes
Dinner - Thai Meatballs

If we'd not gone out Wednesday evening, the Thai meatballs would still have lasted through Saturday so this was a success! This week we're trying a few new recipes and adding in some of our go-to recipes as well. While it's fun to dive into a new cookbook and have such tasty results, it was exhausting cooking 3 meals at once over a two hour span of time. I'm going to try and spread out the cooking over the course of Sunday this week.


Saturday, February 28, 2015

march goals

February was a successful month for choosing small, manageable goals. The goals were meant to keep my creative side active.

This month I am aiming a bit higher by setting similar goals that stretch me a bit more.

Finish Two books
I'm currently listening to Still Alice and finding it a nice book to listen to while baking, cleaning and creating. The character development drives the plot and these activities allow me enough uninterrupted time to really get into the story. I find that since I am rarely in my car for longer than 10 minutes or so, I have to make space in my schedule for podcasts and audio books that require longer stretches of time to fully enjoy the story.

On the other side, I'm ticking away at Delancey one chapter at a time. They are quick and short but deep and lyrical chapters. This means I can read one chapter before bed or one when I wake up and I don't need a long stretch of solitude to be able to enjoy the writing. I still have a number of books on my stack so perhaps I'll even get to dive into something new this month!

Sew Once a Week
I have many friends with babies on the way and a few quilts I mentioned in last week's fiber friday post. Now armed with a gift certificate to my local quilt shop, I've no excuse! I've decided to make time once a week to get back into fabric. I'm not going to box myself in with a particular project but will instead see where it is these stitch sessions take me. Look for update on fiber fridays!

Meal Plan
I was so into meal planning in the fall but fell off the wagon hard around December. It's time to officially get back into things and I'm hoping my new cookbook will be the main source of inspiration! I received "Make Ahead Paleo" for my birthday and have already made one recipe. Though we do not eat exclusively paleo, I do eat gluten- and dairy-free and all of the recipes meet this requirement. The big-batch style cooking has worked so well for us in the past that this should fit into our weekly routine well but liven up the type of foods we are eating. Thai Coconut Meatballs are on my list for this week!

Blog Three Times a Week
I was all set to do a fitness goal and then I realized that with leading FitClub at school twice a week and having two races this month, I think I have the motivation I need in that department. Instead, I want to continue to be here on the blog. I've been listening to some past episodes of a podcast where bloggers get together and chat about writing and inspiration. This has helped me see how many different approaches there are to writing and posting on a blog. I am working be OK with seasons where I write less but also realizing how much renewal I get from sitting down and planning out blog posts. The process itself helps me to make time for the crafts, hobbies, and activities I enjoy. It helps me tune out the work to-dos and the household chores that are calling my name and focus on how I will BEcreative and really, be myself. I hoping that an extra post a week doesn't because another thing on my to-do list, but something that inspires me to keep at the things that bring me joy.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

menu planning

As part of my reality check that the school year is just around the corner, I've been looking for go-to recipes. Meal planning helps me immensely, especially during extra busy seasons. I'm always searching for new inspiration. Here are a few recipes that look good as well as a free download!




To help me stay motivated, I made a new template that I'm sharing (click on the image below). I made my menu for Monday through Friday with space to note breakfast, lunch and dinner. The columns hold 2"x1.5" post-it notes, which I use to write down the meal/recipe name. This makes it easy to reuse favorite meals from week to week or to switch them around should the plan need to change. I printed mine on a piece of card stock and then put it in a plastic page protector. This way I can reuse the same template until I need new inspiration :)

Don't worry, we eat meals on the weekend too, it's just more about leftovers and is much less structured.



Feel free to download or share your favorite meal planning ideas!

Monday, July 28, 2014

Quickles


I love pickles. Plain dill, garlic dill, I can even love a good bread and butter pickle as long as I'm expecting it. Nothing worse than a sweet pickle when you're ready for tangy dill!

About 5 years ago we lived in Colorado and had a great Farmera market that was all but 2 months of the year. I'd chat with the sellers and came to learn the best way to wash greens, how to grow local herbal tea and so much more. Sadly I've forgotten a lot of these tips and stories so we've been spending the summer reclaiming our love for local and handmade.

Fast forward to last weekend when we took a trip to a local market and fruit stand. There were boxes and BOXES of pickling cucumbers and I was immediately transported back to Colorado when we made pickles.

So we snagged a respectable amount, though too many since were headed out of town soon and I began hunting for a recipe.

My canning skills are limited and due to time constraints I decided on this recipe for quick pickles, or as I affectionately refer to them, Quickles.



The recipe is straight but I would recommend watching this video that accompanies the recipe because Sarah Carey is a great chef to watch and she gives some helpful tips.

My only changes were to cut the brine recipe in half (due to the number of pickles if grabbed) and I did cut the sugar down by 1/3 since we're not into super sweet pickles.

Can't wait to add these to a sandwich or a hamburger. And to be honest, I'll probably pop a few as a little snack as well :)